100 ways Labour has delivered in the past year
It’s been just over a year since the last election – and we’re taking this opportunity to reflect on the past 12 months. Keeping New Zealanders safe from COVID-19 has remained a key focus. But we’ve also made strong progress on other long-term challenges, including housing, child poverty, and climate change.
Here are just 100 things we’ve delivered in the past 12 months to secure our recovery, improve the wellbeing of Kiwis, and tackle the big issues facing New Zealand.
We:
Got more people into jobs – with unemployment down to its lowest level on record, at 3.4% in the September quarter
Rolled out COVID vaccines to more than 3.7 million people – 89% of eligible Kiwis
Carefully managed the economy through the COVID-19 response to help keep our public debt levels lower than those of many countries we compare ourselves to
Recorded improvements across all nine child poverty measures
Increased main benefits by $20 per adult to help families put food on the table
Protected hundreds of thousands of jobs and helped businesses stay afloat through COVID with our wage subsidies
Trained thousands of vaccinators, ensuring capacity to deliver more than 130,000 doses in a single day
Supported more people into free vocational training and apprenticeships, with more than 170,000 people now having benefitted from the Targeted Training and Apprenticeships Fund
Created more than 4,600 environmental jobs in our regions through our Jobs for Nature programme
Committed to making the public sector carbon neutral by 2025 – a key part of our plan for a net zero carbon New Zealand by 2050
Expanded free lunches in schools, with the programme now reaching 130,000 students
Are doubling the Resurgence Support Payment to help businesses with fixed costs as we respond to COVID
Doubled minimum sick leave from five to 10 days per year, to help Kiwis and workplaces stay healthy
Invested in public transport, rail, cycleways and walking infrastructure to give Kiwis greener transport choices and help us reduce emissions
Are making Matariki a public holiday, which will first be celebrated on 24 June 2022
Secured a new free trade agreement with the UK, giving New Zealand exporters unprecedented access to the UK market
Worked to remove barriers for the construction sector, helping to reach a record high of more than 47,000 new homes consented in the year to September
Are providing first ever nationwide funding of mental health services for Rainbow young people to help improve mental health outcomes
Delivered more than 2,500 public and transitional homes, as part of our plan to deliver 18,000 extra places by 2024
Are working to level the playing field for first home buyers, by extending the bright-line test and closing a tax loophole that benefits property speculators
Expanded access to interest-free loans through the Small Business Cashflow Loan Scheme, to help small businesses through the pandemic
Took the next steps on the Clean Car Import Standard, to prevent up to 3 million tonnes of emissions by 2040
Increased Superannuation and Veteran’s Pensions by 3.1%, to make life easier for 830,000 older Kiwis
Continued the Leave Support Scheme to assist anyone who has to self-isolate due to COVID-19
Boosted funding for Pharmac so more New Zealanders can access the medicines, treatments and medical devices they need
Are working to deliver lower credit and debit card fees for businesses
Introduced legislation to ban conversion practices, so nobody has to undergo this harmful ordeal
Implemented the Healthy Homes Standards that require all rentals to meet minimum standards so they’re safe, warm and dry
Cut red tape to boost housing supply, allowing three homes of up to three storeys to be built on most sites without resource consent
Expanded the Flexi-wage initiative, which has already supported nearly 8,000 Kiwis into work since February this year
Brought more than 117,000 people into New Zealand safely during the pandemic, through our MIQ facilities
Passed counterterrorism legislation to better protect New Zealanders from terrorist activity
Made sure people on a benefit who are working part time can keep more of what they earn, by lifting abatement thresholds
Completed more than 33,700 insulation and efficient heater installs through our Warmer Kiwi Homes programme – and boosted funding to provide 47,700 more
Backed Digital Boost, a new digital training, advice and support service that will help tens of thousands of small businesses take advantage of opportunities in e-commerce
Rolled out free period products to all primary, intermediate and secondary schools and kura, removing barriers to education for young people
Helped young people stay safe at festivals and events by legalising and funding drug-checking services
Continued upgrading schools and hospitals to ensure they run on clean energy by replacing coal boilers with clean alternatives
Introduced a Clean Car Discount, making it easier for Kiwi families to make the switch to low emissions vehicles
Launched the Housing Acceleration Fund to speed up the pace and scale of building
Kick-started a long overdue reform of New Zealand’s health system to ensure Kiwis can get the care they need, no matter where they live
Quadrupled funding to Green Investment Finance to back technology and innovation that will support a low carbon economy
Continued rebuilding our rundown hospitals and medical facilities so people can get modern, quality care
Are establishing a counterterrorism research centre to make our communities safer and protect against future threats
Supported more than 15,000 Kiwi businesses to keep and take on more than 37,000 apprentices through the Apprenticeship Boost payment
Lifted the minimum wage to $20 an hour
Supported more than 4,100 people at risk of long term unemployment into work and on-the-job training through Mana in Mahi
Took the next steps to tackle New Zealand’s waste problem by working to phase out hard to recycle items like plastic food and drink packaging and single use cutlery, plates and bowls
Are working to update curriculum content so that all students get the chance to learn New Zealand history in school
Established the Ministry of Ethnic Communities to ensure Aotearoa is a place where everyone feels safe, valued, and heard
Installed our 250th 4G mobile tower – helping regional businesses and communities stay connected
Continued upgrading schools and classrooms around the country, creating 9,144 more spaces for students just this year
Made going to school cheaper for more families, with additional schools opting into our donations scheme so parents don’t have to pay school donations
Supported nearly 1,000 rangatahi Māori into employment, education or training through He Poutama Rangatahi
Ensured better outcomes for New Zealanders with disabilities by announcing a new Ministry for Disabled People, which will join up support services
Delivered pay equity for teacher aides and progressed pay parity for early childhood education and care teachers
Continued rolling out learning support coordinators to more schools, to better support up to 300,000 Kiwi kids with diverse learning needs
Supported more than 11,000 people each month through our frontline mental health service in GP clinics
Installed new radiation machines in Christchurch and Palmerston North hospitals, with more in the pipeline, so people with cancer can more easily access lifesaving treatment
Are expanding our Mana Ake programme across New Zealand so more children can access mental health and wellbeing support at school
Increased opportunities for local councils to strengthen Māori representation at their decision-making tables
Boosted funding for cochlear implants for adults, to double the number of people who can access the life-changing device each year
Supported businesses to transition away from fossil fuels through the Government Investment in Decarbonising Industry (GIDI) Fund
Are upgrading marae across the country, supporting jobs in our regions
Boosted funding for Whānau Ora to support more whānau in need
Increased the number of registered social workers to 10,000, so quality support is available to Kiwis who need it
Boosted funding for Māori trades and training, to get more than 500 more people into work and training opportunities
Are cutting costs for farmers and growers – and supported the transition to a greener agriculture sector – by investing in integrated farm planning
Started work to establish the Māori Health Authority to improve health outcomes for Māori and make our health system fairer
Prepared and released a draft replacement for the RMA, delivering on our promise to reform the current process because it takes too long, costs too much and doesn’t work
Backed innovation in our food and fibre sector by investing in projects like trialing biodegradable nappies made from New Zealand wool, finding sustainable pest management practices to produce food and wine, looking into leaf protein to help lower on-farm emissions, and more
Supported the global COVID response, providing vaccines, logistical support and funding across the Pacific – including a donation of 250,000 vaccine doses to Fiji
Removed barriers Māori landowners have faced for decades, unlocking the potential of Māori-owned land and enabling whānau to develop their land
Ramped up pest control efforts by backing hundreds of pest and weed prevention projects
Started the Te Huia commuter rail service to connect Waikato and Auckland
Made the largest investment in Māori housing in decades – a total of $380m over four years – ensuring more whānau can live in safe, healthy homes
Supported communities to lead whānau-centred, holistic services focused on preventing family violence and sexual violence, with a funding boost
Stepped up efforts to protect kauri from dieback and preserve this taonga for future generations, with a funding boost
Are setting up a new mental health and wellbeing support programme for Auckland businesses hit hard by the Delta outbreak
Delivered on our commitment to protect people in financial hardship from high-cost loans that could trap them in debt
Backed renewable energy solutions and reduced energy prices for Māori and public housing by funding, for instance, solar panels for more than 200 homes
Supported more people into study and training by extending the Training Incentive Allowance to higher-level courses
Delivered on our promise to better protect security guards’ pay and working conditions
Funded research into new ways to clean up our waterways without reducing productivity
Supported thousands of people into jobs in the primary sector, through the Opportunities Grow Here campaign
Reached an agreement on the future of Ihumātao
Ensured our primary industries have the people they need to get the job done by securing Pacific quarantine free travel arrangements for RSE workers
Expanded the Tupu Aotearoa programme, helping Pacific communities across Aotearoa develop skills and connect with local employers
Funded much-needed infrastructure upgrades for our Māori boarding schools, to recognise their important role and ensure tamariki and rangatahi can learn in safe, modern environments
Extended our business debt hibernation scheme to give companies hit hard by COVID some breathing room
Expanded the Small Business Loan Scheme, to help vulnerable but viable businesses with ongoing cashflow issues
Started work to upgrade and safeguard our water infrastructure, to keep our drinking water safe and beaches clean
Expanded the Pregnancy and Parenting Programme to offer support to more mums and whānau grappling with addiction issues
Delivered on our commitment to back Kiwi research and development innovators and entrepreneurs with a substantial funding boost
Declared a climate emergency to accelerate efforts to reduce our emissions
Announced an independent review into Pharmac, to look at things like timeliness and transparency in the purchasing of medicines
Boosted funding for Youthline, increasing the mental health support available to our rangatahi and tamariki
Partnered with our regions to boost their economic development, with $200 million seed funding made available
Supported transgender, non-binary and intersex New Zealanders by working to simplify the process to change their registered sex on birth certificates
Launched a market study to see whether Kiwis are getting a fair price for groceries – and to drive change, if not